Union Fair, blueberry festival to start Sunday

UNION – The Union Fair is a little bit country and a whole lot of blues when the Maine Wild Blueberry Festival is thrown into the mix.

The two events combine for a week of amusement and agriculture.

The fair-festival starts Sunday and runs through Aug. 26.

Except for two years during World War II, the Union Fair has been an annual attraction since 1869.

In 1959, the fair introduced what it dubbed the State of Maine Blueberry Festival, planned in cooperation with the state Department of Agriculture, according to the fair Web site. “Since wild blueberries were plentiful locally, it made sense to initiate a blueberry festival during fair time which coincided with the fruit harvesting.”

And the wild blue fruit at this festival comes fresh-picked and in pies, cobblers, coffee cakes, pancakes, quick breads and more.

Of course, there are pie-eating contests, too. There’s even a Maine Wild Blueberry Queen competition.

On opening day at the 8 p.m. coronation, a 2006 Maine Wild Blueberry Queen will be picked from a batch of contestants. Six princesses will compete for the title, which comes with a crown, trophy, $1,500 cash and roses. The runner-up crown princess and Miss Congeniality also win a trophy roses and $500 cash and $200 cash, respectively.

On Friday, Wild Blueberry Festival Day, the hut will cook and serve thousands of individual wild blueberry pies, free to all fair patrons.

The headline entertainment this year is the hot new country foursome Little Big Town, which sings “Bring It On Home,” “Boondocks,” “Good As Gone,” and “Bones”.

Normally, the headliners play toward the end of the week, but fair organizers had to move the feature entertainment to 8 p.m. Monday to accommodate Little Big Town’s busy schedule, said Buddy Savage, Union Fair trustee.

The grandstand has bleachers and standing room, he said, but attendants are encouraged to bring along lawn chairs for the show, which is expected to draw a crowd.

“We’re looking to put on a quality show to show we’re for real,” he said. “We want to kick it up a notch or two.”

Another key attraction this year is Winn’s Galaxy of Thrills, Savage said, which is described as an aerial thrill show with Galaxy Girl, who performs atop a 127-foot sway pole. The high tech rigging includes a high-pole aerial “space platform and the cyber cycle.”

Agricultural fairs have had some tough years in recent times, he said, “because there’s so much competition for the entertainment dollar.”

With festivals and events happening every weekend during summer and the fact that agricultural fairs usually have their own property, buildings and race tracks to maintain, it makes it more difficult to make ends meet.

There are no added fees for special attractions, including the Little Big Town concert, he said.

General admission is $7. Admission is free for kids under 15.

For a schedule of events, visit the Web site at www.unionfair.org or call 785-3281.